We pull this sugar cookie recipe out through the year. Kids love making them. Who doesn't love cutting out shapes and decorating them with frosting and sprinkles?
We love this sugar cookie recipe.  It is based on an Alton Brown recipe that we picked up a long time ago. We have adjusted the bake time and temperature to work for us.
Kids love making these sugar cookies. Who doesn’t love cutting out shapes and decorating them with frosting and sprinkles? We actually have cutters for every month and the alphabet, so we can make these all the time. This is our favorite because it is has perfect flavors and texture. Some other recipes have vanilla, but we prefer the vanilla in the frosting or icing. These cookies bake up soft in the middle and crisp at the edges.
This dough is easy to pull together. The last time we made it, I didn’t have a stand mixer, but a potato masher worked just fine. The only downside if there is one is that making shapes works best if the dough has been refrigerated for a few hours. So there is either a long pause in the cookie baking process or you can make the dough ahead and then make shapes and decorate another day.
You can actually keep dough in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze it until you are ready to make cookies. I like to pull the dough into pieces that make about a dozen cookies at a time. Just cover the pieces in plastic wrap or put them in a freezer bag if you are storing them longer.
We’ve never frozen the cookies. I have read a few other recipes that say you can freeze cookies after they are baked and before you frost them. These never last long enough for us to try that at our house.
This is the buttercream frosting recipe that we like to use for sugar cookies.
Print Recipe
Sugar Cookies
Instructions
Add butter and sugar to a bowl, and mix until thoroughly combined. A stand mixer is the easiest, but a potato masher works too.
Lightly beat the egg and milk. Then add to the bowl and mix until combined.
In a second bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Slowly combine flour mixture with the butter mixture
Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
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Add a dusting of powdered sugar to your counter and roll dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.
Cut your favorite shapes from the dough.
Place shapes 1 inch apart on a lightly greased or silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. The edges will just start to brown. Then rest on a cooling rack, and then decorate with your favorite icing or frosting.
